Discovery of the Black aboard MV Munin Explorer -4th June 2013

Brief description of discovery

Our vessel the MV Munin Explorer was on transit from Trinidad to a Chevron Project on the Jack/St Malo site in the Gulf of . We passed through the Yucatan Channel during the night of the 3rd to 4th June in the wake of the first tropical storm of the year that was passing from the Pacific Ocean, across the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico bringing with it heavy rain and strong SW winds.

At approximately 4:43pm local time Nichola Russell, one of our Marine Mammal Observers, saw a medium-sized black on the helideck at the rear of the ship. She informed myself, Mike Bailey and Michael Ballard of the bird and before looking through binoculars we surmised it might be a New World species of Grackle or Blackbird due to the size and colouration. The position of the vessel was 24°46.68N 89°31.55W, but it seems most likely that the bird had probably joined us the night

before, but had been skulking since then.

Identification

On raising our binoculars we discovered a glossy black medium-sized , that had long dark legs, a short medium-sized all dark bill and long tail, with quite short primary projection. The bird also had a dark eye and the initially appearing black could be seen when we approached a little closer to have some purple and greenish iridescent gloss.

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Myself and Mike Bailey were familiar with most of the North American bird species, and Mike also had extensive experience with many neotropical bird species having travelled extensively in South America, but neither of us could immediately ID the bird. I felt it might be either a large Silky Flycatcher sp. Ptiliogonatidae sp , Solitaire sp.– Myadestes, Cichlopsis and Entomodestes sp. and Mike Bailey suggested some kind of a Catbird sp.- Mimidae sp.

We continued to watch the bird until dusk feeding on whatever scant insect prey it could find on board the vessel.

The bird was again present the following morning, and was again watched on and off feeding at various points around the ship until around 10:30am local time on June 4th, when the last sighting was made at 26°14.55 N, 91°31.29 W.

After the discovery

With a bit more research on the internet I was able to finally identify the bird as a Black Catbird Melanoptila glabrirostris.

This bird has limited range in the Yucatan Peninsula and has no history of undertaking long-distance migrations. There had been a record of in Texas from June 21 1892, collected near Brownsville. This bird was accepted in 1990 by the Texas Bird Records Committee1, but not the AOU or ABA.

It seems likely that the bird was blown from either Cozumel Island or the nearby Yucatan coast some 70NM to east and landed on our vessel. It seemed in a reasonable state of health, despite some small white mites around the eye, which can be clearly seen in the photographs. It was very approachable suggesting it was weak after its uncharacteristically long flight.

As we were working on a US project, but found the bird in transit I wasn’t sure if there would be any interest in this record, especially as I was uncertain whether it had entered US territorial waters.

Through an American birding friend Carlos Ross I enquired about the ID and whether the record might be of interest to either the ABA or AOU. I sent Carlos details of the sighting, and he was able to confirm after consultation with Marshall Iliff and James Van Remsen the identification of the bird, but at the time I was told there was no interest as the bird was not in US waters.

Subsequently in December 2013 I was contacted by Micheal LP Retter of the Texas Bird Records Committee via a mutual friend, Rachel Coombes, who expressed an interest in seeing photographs and possibly submitting the record if it was actually in US waters.

After gaining permission from the client Chevron Ltd I was able to put together this short report on the discovery and identity of what is probably the most northerly record of Black Catbird in over a century.

1 TEXAS BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE REPORT FOR 1990- Black Catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris)(1). One was collected at or near Brownsville, Cameron on 21 June 1892 (FBA; *Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences #42944). At the annual meeting of the TBRC on 3 March 1990 it was unanimously decided to add Black Catbird to the official Texas list based on the above specimen record. There has been a cloud over the origin of the specimen from time to time (Oberholser 1974). In light of evidence concerning Armstrong's collections, the TBRC decided there was no valid reason to ignore this extant specimen. This record has now been submitted to the ABA and AOU for their consideration

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Observers: Mike Bailey, Michael Ballard Sean Minns and Nichola Russell.

Photographs: Mike Bailey and Sean Minns.

Sean Minns - February 2014 Bergen, Norway

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